The subject of this patent application is generally related to vision assessment, and more particularly to a system and associated methods for objectively assessing vision using a computing device.
Applicant(s) hereby incorporate herein by reference any and all patents and published patent applications cited or referred to in this application.
By way of background, the human visual system is the part of the central nervous system which gives the ability to process visual detail, as well as enables the formation of several non-image photo response functions. It detects and interprets information from visible light in order to build a representation of the surrounding environment. The visual system carries out a number of complex tasks, including the reception of light and the formation of monocular representations; the buildup of a nuclear binocular perception from a pair of two dimensional projections; the identification and categorization of visual objects; assessing distances to and between objects; and guiding body movements in relation to visual objects. Traditional methods used for assessing a patient's visual functions require the involvement of a trained human physician (or physician's assistant). As such, these methods tend to be either completely manual or semi-automated at best. Relatedly, relying upon a physician to perform such assessments requires that a patient actually make an appointment with their physician, hoping then that such periodically scheduled assessments are serendipitously timed so as to catch a vision-related disease at a relatively early stage. Furthermore, these traditional visual assessment methods require the active, conscious and subjective participation of the patient. As a result, the assessments suffer from a risk of being strongly influenced by the voluntary (or involuntary) and subjective responses of the patient. Additionally, traditional assessment methods tend to constitute a cross-sectional evaluation of visual function with separated results rather than a compendium of these visual parameters and its multivariate analysis.
Aspects of the present invention are directed to solving all of these problems by providing a system and associated methods for assessing vision using a computing device, as discussed in detail below.